Jarryd Hayne’s lawyer to monitor new Aussie sex assault allegations
The prominent US lawyer representing Jarryd Hayne’s alleged rape victim in a civil lawsuit in California has said he is “keeping a close eye” on the unsubstantiated new sexual assault allegations levelled against the NRL star in Australia.
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The prominent US lawyer representing Jarryd Hayne’s alleged rape victim in a civil lawsuit in California has said he is “keeping a close eye” on the unsubstantiated new sexual assault allegations levelled against the NRL star in Australia, and would “be happy” to talk to Australian authorities and the alleged victim.
John Clune, who has represented women in several high-profile sexual assault cases including allegations against celebrity athlete Kobe Bryant and US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, told News Corp Australia that he would co-operate with Australian police if there was an opportunity to help each other.
“There is not a lot of information available right now but we will definitely keep a close eye on it and if it is something that would be a value either to us or if we can be of help to the [Australian] police, we would certainly be happy to have those conversations,” Mr Clune said.
“It depends on if there is a criminal case. If there is a criminal case, we don’t want to do anything that would interfere with that prosecution so we wouldn’t reach out during a criminal case. If there is not or we hear from either this woman or law enforcement, if they initiate a call, we would be happy to talk with them.”
Hayne, 30, is the subject of an investigation by the NSW Sex Crimes Squad following an alleged incident on the night of the recent NRL grand final.
According to a report on Channel 9, the woman complained to police after the two had sex at a house in the Hunter Valley on September 30.
The report claimed the woman said she had suffered injuries during the sexual encounter and she had photographs to back up her story.
It is understood the pair met on social media and had been corresponding in the time leading up to meeting in person on the night of the grand final.
Police are investigating the woman’s allegations that the pair had what was initially consensual sexual intercourse, during which she “withdrew her consent”.
In the US, Hayne is locked in civil court proceedings after a woman, only identified as “JV”, claimed she was a virgin and was raped by the athlete after they met at a bar while he was playing for the San Francisco 49ers NFL team in 2015.
Hayne has categorically denied the US allegations and is vigorously defending the proceedings.
But Mr Clune said that the new accusation, if it were proven, could help his client’s civil case if it shows a pattern of behaviour.
“If you have evidence that there is a certain pattern of behaviour, it can be admissible — and you can imagine that whether it is a criminal case or a civil case, if there is evidence that someone behaves in a certain pattern, that can have a lot of impact on the judge and the jury,” he told News Corp Australia.
“It definitely has the potential [to help] but it is too early to speculate right now — is it a similar [allegation] or is it a really different allegation? We really don’t know enough about it now, so we will respect the authority’s process and will keep an eye on it and see what develops.”
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